Invisible
by XxiWolfGirlixX
Summary: Ayaka Hara has been on her own since her parents left her at the age of five. Being a small, quiet girl, people began to take advantage of her weakness and bully her, even Naruto Uzamaki, a boy hated by the whole village. When assigned to Team Seven, she sets out to show her parents just what they've missed. I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE ORIGINAL NARUTO CHARACTERS!
1. Chapter 1

I hate being small. Everyone in my class bullies me because they think I'm weak. Even Naruto bullies me and everyone else bullies him. I would have thought that at least we could be friends. But no, he's just like the rest. They're all wrapped up in their own lives and Sasuke's. All of the girls care way too much about Sasuke Uchiha even though he wouldn't lift a finger to help anyone in this village; all he cares about is his stupid revenge plot. All the guys care about Sasuke too, although not in the same way. They look up to him, like he's some kind of hero. Even Naruto, who claims to hate Sasuke's guts, is always thinking about him. It makes no sense to me. Why care about others if they don't care about you?

I do poorly in all of my classes, simply because the other students might hate me more if I do better than them. Luckily for me, Iruka-sensei allows me to make-up what I've done wrong at the end of the day, so I have the highest grades in my class. But I don't have to worry about it anymore. I've already graduated from the academy and am about to be assigned to a team. I just hope it doesn't have Sakura or Ino on it; they're the biggest jerks in the school.

"Team Seven!" Iruka calls from the front of the class. "Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno," Please don't let me be on this team. "Sasuke Uchiha," Pretty, pretty please, God. I'll do anything. "And Ayaka Hara." I hate my life.

After all of the teams are assigned, we are instructed to wait in a room for our teacher. I sit in the back of the room, trying to avoid the others. Maybe they won't notice I'm here. Maybe I'll be able to make friends with them if I do make myself noticeable. But I'm not sure if I want to be their friend. They've bullied me my whole life. What is Naruto doing now? Putting a chalkboard eraser on the door? Weird.

The door opens and the eraser falls on the head of a man with strange white hair. Please don't tell me this is our sensei. "My first impression of you," the man says, "Is you're all idiots." Naruto and Sakura begin freaking out at the man while Sasuke stays silent but is obviously agitated. "Wait, I thought there were four of you."

Naruto and Sakura fall silent. "Oh, our other teammate didn't show up. What was her name? Aya... Aya someone." They don't even know I'm in the room. You would think at least a jonin would notice me. Everyone begins looking around the room for me.

"She was probably too scared to show up," Naruto says arrogantly, "She's always been a wimp."

That's it. Before they start bad-mouthing me more, I butt in. "I'm right here."

Everyone freezes. "Were you there the whole time, Aya?" Sensei-man asks.

"Umm, my name is Ayaka, not Aya. Yeah, I was there the whole time, but I'm used to not being noticed."

"Right," he says nervously. "Well, let's go up on the roof for introductions."

Up on the roof, our sensei reveals his identity: Kakashi Hatake. He says we're supposed to say our names, likes, dislikes, and goals. He gives the example but really only says his name.

Naruto goes on about how he loves ramen and then decides to point out how he's going to be the best hogake ever, Sakura fangirls over Sasuke and screams that she hates Naruto, and then Sasuke talks about his quest for power so he can kill someone. All of their stories are so... dull, although I'm not saying mine isn't; mine is quite cliché as a matter of fact.

"Hi, my name is Ayaka Hara. I don't really know what I like, I work too hard to do anything fun."

"You don't work hard. You failed all of the tests in the academy!" Sakura interrupts.

"My records say that she got better grades than all of you," Kakashi states.

Everyone stiffens and turns to me. "But we watched you fail all of your tests!" Naruto shouts.

"I had an arrangement with Iruka-sensei. He allowed me to retake them after everyone left. I dislike not being noticed and being alone, but both of those have become a part of my daily life so I deal with it. And my goal in life is to be the best ninja I can be and then, one day, find my parents and show them that they can be proud of me."

"What do you mean, find your parents?" Kakashi asks.

"Well, my fifth birthday present from them was enrollment in the academy and the life of an orphan. They left me."

Everyone falls silent. Naruto turns to the ground, Sasuke continues to glare into space like always, Sakura doesn't seem to understand what I just said, and Kakashi is staring at me, his eyes filled with pity. "Uh, right," our startled sensei continues, "Well, tomorrow we will have survival training. I understand that you have done a lot of survival training in the academy, but this is different. Oh, and before I forget, don't eat breakfast tomorrow morning."

"Why not, sensei?" The ever inquisitive Sakura asks.

"Because, if you do, you'll puke." I believe that he is the only person in the world who can say that with a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Unlike my teammates, I don't go home after our meeting. Instead, I head to the forest for training. I need to be stronger because I doubt my team will try to save me if an S Rank villain has a kunai to my neck.

I practice until morning and have trouble getting back to my apartment. I stumble up the stairs of my building and make it halfway down the hall before I collapse. I lay on the ground, panting for a minute before I pass out completely.

I wake up in the morning to a rather large someone falling over me. "Oof!"

We lay like this for a second, me splayed out on the ground and my stranger friend lying horizontally on my back. It kind of uncomfortable.

"Uh, sir," I begin, "Could you please remove yourself from my backside?" I start to push off the ground before he can respond.

"Whoa! I'm moving, I'm moving." I feel the great weight being lifted off my back by the muscular arms I can see in my peripheral vision. His sleeves look somewhat familiar, even if they are standard ninja sleeves. And I recognize his voice as well, but I'm not sure where it is that I know him from.

When I can no longer feel him on my back, I roll over and get a good, long look at his masked face. Dangit.

"Oh, hey, Ayaka," Kakashi says calmly. "What are you doing lying outside my apartment?"

"I spent the night training and kind of collapsed here on my way to my apartment." We stay silent for a second. "Wait!" I scream.

"What are you screaming for?"

"Why aren't you at the training area? You're late!"

"Uh... a black cat crossed my path..."

I interrupt him, "In your apartment? Whatever, we have to go." I jump up, grab his hand, and leap over the railing on the side of the hall, landing softly on the ground below.

"Dangit," I mutter to myself.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asks, running behind me.

"I forgot to eat breakfast." My stomach rumbles as I talk.

"But I told you not to eat, so it's fine," he says, obviously smiling under his mask.

"Why do I feel like I shouldn't be listening to you, then?"

We end up grabbing some fruit from a stand and eating on our way. While running, I offered Kakashi an apple but he said he had already eaten, so he was either tricking us or thinks he's got a really strong stomach.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura scream at us as we walk onto the training ground.

"Yeah, sorry about that," I say, "We kinda ran into a black cat and had to go the long way."

Kakashi chuckles a little and Naruto and Sakura just stare at me like I'm crazy before turning to complain to our sensei. Ugh, I'm being left out, again. Time to retreat.

I find a nice tree to sit in while Kakashi explains the rules of his "game." I can tell immediately that he's trying to pit us against each other, meaning it's a teamwork exercise. How am I going to get these idiots to work on a team with me? Naruto is going to be trying to prove himself, Sakura is going to be stalking Sasuke, and Sasuke is going to think he's too cool to work with everyone else. Well, that idea's not going to work, but I think I've got a better trick up my sleeve. Kakashi, prepare to be impressed.


	3. Chapter 3

"Go." When Kakashi says the word, I leap out of my tree and into the surrounding forest. The others all do the same, except for Naruto.

After recovering from his squabble with Kakashi that took place before we started, he gets right back on his feet and attacks Kakashi head on. He's such an idiot.

I hide, deep in the forest, keeping my chakra levels low. I make three clones, transforming them to look like my teammates. I find a small clearing and have the clones hide in trees around it and wait.

It doesn't take long for Kakashi to come wandering through. He looks towards the tree that the Sakura-look-alike is in, so the Sasuke-look-alike shoots a shuriken at him. Kakashi skillfully dodges and turns towards Sasuke. He steps out of his hiding place, knowing he's been found out.

The two lunge at each other, the book that Kakashi had been reading is now in his pocket. Sasuke makes sure to not get hit so that he doesn't vanish.

"I can't hold back anymore!" The Naruto-look-alike screams from his position. He jumps out of the tree, joining in the fight with Kakashi.

"Naruto, you idiot! You were supposed to be hiding!" Sasuke shouts while dodging a blow to the stomach.

There's a brief moment where Kakashi pauses to listen to the two boys argue, giving Sakura a chance to throw a few kunai at his back. He barely dodges and Sakura bursts from her tree as he does.

The three clones send him a barrage of attacks, shooting shuriken, kunai, and justus at him. They force him to turn so that his back is facing towards my hiding place in a bush. This is my chance.

I creep out of my spot, my chakra barely detectable, and walk a few feet behind him. I'm close enough to be afraid of him turning around and seeing me. I reach my arm forward and quickly grab the two bells that we are going after. This grabs his attention.

He turns around just in time to see my back, vanishing into the forest. I make sure the clones are out of his sight before they vanish so that he'll think they were real. Now, time to get the bells to Naruto and Sasuke.

There he is. I finally found Sasuke after an hour of searching. I do a quick transformation jutsu to make myself look like Kakashi, and drop from my tree onto the ground below. I hang one of the bells on my waist and put the other securely in my weapons pouch before walking into Sasuke's line of vision. When I get close enough, he springs at me, knocking me to the ground. The bell on my waist falls to the ground and I scramble away, leaving Sasuke smirking behind me, a tiny bell tinkling in his hand. I know, running away isn't like Kakashi, but while I'm imitating him, I might as well make him seem like an idiot.

Naruto will be easy to fool, I hope. He's already got this idea that he's better than Kakashi, so I'll just let him keep believing that. I step in front of him, still disguised as our sensei. Naruto notices me immediately. "You back to give me a fair chance a kicking your butt, old man?" Naruto taunts. I'm pretty sure Kakashi isn't old, he just started greying at a young age.

"The person who speaks the most is the weakest," I state calmly, trying to act a bit like Kakashi.

"Whatever, you're going down, believe it!" The blonde shoots at me and I narrowly dodge a punch to the stomach. Dang, this kid's stronger than people give him credit for. I'll have to 'lose' the bell, getting hit by one if his blows might break my justu. I quickly loosen the knot keeping the bell attached to my hip and turn towards Naruto, who is regaining his balance after running into a tree.

He rushes at me again, this time, making two clones, and throws a kunai. I dodge, but make sure to jump with enough force to cause the bell to slip. Naruto notices this and grabs it off of the ground. "Look at that! I got the bell! Believe it!" I glare at him with my one visible eye before vanishing into the forest.

A loud ringing noise awakes me from a nap. So, his game is over. I run to the lunch spot where Sasuke and Naruto are proudly holding out their bells. Sakura looks disappointed that she didn't get one, but that doesn't stop her from fawning over Sasuke.

Our sensei suddenly appears in front of us. "So, I see that Sasuke and Naruto got the bells, that means Sakura and Ayaka will be tied to the stumps and allowed to watch the two boys eat their lunches." Kakashi quickly get us situated in a way that we can still be a part of the conversation. "Alright, so, Sasuke, how did you get your bell?" Dangit.

"I tackled you and you dropped your bell before running away like the coward you are," the Uchiha says proudly. Wow, way to be a jerk, Sasuke.

Kakashi's face changes from proud to confused. Thank god he doesn't know it was me that tricked him. "Alright, Naruto, how about you?"

"I attacked you full on, and you couldn't handle it, believe it!" I think I just lost my hearing ability in one ear.

"How is it," Kakashi asks, "That I don't remember any of this happening?" Crap, crap, crap!

"Maybe you have selective memory loss," I say, trying to get him off the subject. "Why don't you let them eat? I'm dying of hunger and having someone else eat should help me feel better." I add a smile at the end to make it seem more convincing.

"No, one of you tricked the three of us," Kakashi says, looking at all of his students. "I was attacked by all four of you at the same time. Do none of you remember that?"

"Nope!" The three others say in unison. When they realize I didn't say anything, they look at me suspiciously.

"Fine, fine, you got me. I attacked Kakashi with three clones disguised as you guys so that he would think we were working as a team which was the whole point of this exercise. Then I tricked Sasuke and Naruto into thinking they got the bell from Kakashi without needing the help of anyone else so that they could keep their pride at an abnormally high level." When I finish talking, everyone's mouths drop.

"Wait!" Naruto shouts. And there goes my other ear. "I was tricked by a weakling like her?!"

"I'm not weak, you idiot! I could beat in a fight in a second! But I won't because that would have the opposite effect that this exercise was going for!" God, I can't handle this idiot.

"Naruto, Ayaka, let's keep the fighting to a minimum for now," Kakashi butts in. "So, I guess all of you failed, except for, maybe, Ayaka, who understood the point of this mission but also knew you three well enough to know that it would be pointless trying to team up with you." At least someone here understands me. "I'll untie Ayaka but Sasuke and Naruto have to take her place."

"WHAT?" Naruto screams as he's being strapped to the poll. "This is stupid! I'm a much better ninja than she is!"

"Obviously not," Kakashi mutters as he tightens the rope around Sasuke. "Now," he steps back, "Ayaka, here is your lunch. You are not to help them at all. Understand?"

"Yes sir," I respond, nodding my head as I stare hungrily at the food.

He hands me the small boxed lunch. "Good, now I have to go, uh, do something." With that, he vanishes from sight, leaving only a cloud of smoke behind him.

I wait for a second, allowing the smoke to die down, before I turn to my helpless team. "Who's hungry?"

There's silence for a second. "You can't feed us, you idiot! Sensei told you not to! You would get in trouble!" Why does her voice have to be so freaking annoying?

"Right, so let me answer your question, with a question," I respond, "If Kakashi told you to jump of a bridge, would you? Or if he told you to kill Sasuke to save your own life, would you? I'm assuming you wouldn't, and, even though you three seriously annoy me, I wouldn't either. So who wants to eat first?"


	4. Chapter 4

After I finish feeding my team, Kakashi reappears and tells us that we've all passed and can continue to train as ninja. We begin doing missions around the village, like walking dogs, gardening, and, for our most recent mission, finding the lost cat of some fat rich lady.

"We need some tougher missions!" Naruto screams at the Hogake. For once, I find myself agreeing with the idiot.

"You are getting missions that correspond with your rank!" Iruka, who is sitting with the Hogake, shouts back. "And don't yell at your elders, maggot!"

I watch the scene unfold from a wall on the other side of the room, refusing to allow people to think I know those crazy genins. Somehow or another, Naruto manages to convince both Iruka and the Hogake that we are capable of taking on a C ranked mission. The Hokage calls someone into the room and as the doors open, an old man steps out.

"Who's the short one with the funny lookin' face?" I think this man is stupider than Naruto.

"Haha, which one of you is he talking about?" Naruto looks around, noticing that both Sasuke and Sakura are taller than him and that I'm not there, he comes to a realization. "I'll demolish you!" I was wrong about the old man. No one is stupider that Naruto.

I prepare to defend the man but Kakashi steps in first, grabbing Naruto and explaining how he can't demolish the client.

"So, what's our mission?" I walk forward, allowing the grumpy man to notice my presence.

"Who the hell is this twerp?" He yells.

"My name is Ayaka Hara and I would prefer it if you didn't refer to me as a twerp. I'm a part of this team and if you expect us to help you, you will treat us with respect. Now, what are we supposed to do with you?"

The man stares at me, dumbfounded. The Hogake steps forward, potentially stopping any more fights from breaking out. "This is Tasuna of the Land if the Waves. You are to escort him back to his home so he can complete the bridge that is going to connect his island to the mainland."

I open my mouth to say something, but Kakashi interrupts. "Great, we'll leave immediately. Everyone, go pack your supplies and meet at the front gate in an hour, okay?" The team mumbles their responses before darting out of the room.

I follow behind, walking slowly and examining everything as I go. "Ayaka! You might want to hurry up! You've only got an hour!" Kakashi can be so annoying sometimes.

"I'm not like the others," I shout back, "I don't have very much to choose from, outfit or weapon wise." With that, I bolt away, leaving him staring after me, once again with pity in his eyes.

I stare sadly at my little apartment. The grey walls are not covered in posters and the cold floor has never seen a rug before. I open the small chest at the end of my bed. There's a few weapons and scrolls I can use, but once I'm out, it'll be a while before I can get more.

When I was in the academy, it was easier to make ends meet. I would do jobs around town that no one else wanted to do and use the pay from that to buy food. I didn't have to buy weapons because I could use school issued ones. And I bought my apartment with the money my parents left, so I didn't, and still don't, have to pay rent. But now that I have to buy my weapons and food, I can't afford very much.

I shove all of my weapons and scrolls into a pouch and move on to my closet. There are three more of my ninja uniform and on pair of pajamas hanging on the rack. I take all of those and place them in my backpack.

I then move to the refrigerator. Inside, there's an almost empty gallon of milk and a bag of lunch meat, ham to be exact. Thank god I'm going to this dude's house. Maybe he'll have the decency to feed his escorts. I shove both items into a sack and place an ice pack in with them. Well, I guess it's time to go.


	5. Chapter 5

I arrive at the front gate and notice that there's no one else there. I check the time, it's five minutes after the time that Kakashi told us to show up. Did they leave without me or am I just early? I begin to mentally freak out. Am I really that invisible? Did they know I wasn't there and then leave anyway? Do they hate me like mom and dad did? Why did mom and dad hate me? I know, I was different. I couldn't stop myself. I was worthless. I deserve to-

"Hey." I look up from the position I had fallen to on the ground. Sasuke is standing there, examining me as if I'm a freak. Maybe I am a freak.

"Why were you crying?" What's he talking about? I touch my fingers to my cheeks where a warm liquid covers them. Oh, I was crying. I can't tell him why, he'll hate me like my parents did.

I pull myself off the ground and smirk at him, trying to hide the sorrow that lingers in my eyes. "I was just trying to see if you had some form of emotion, which you obviously do. You can drop the tough guy act, you know, at least when you're around me."

He stares at me, his eyes still filled with questions, but only grunts in response before turning away.

I let out a sigh and wipe off my face. I find it funny how I told him to drop the act when I'm really the one who's acting. I lean against a nearby tree and wait for the rest of my team to show up.

"Alright! Let's go!" Naruto shouts enthusiastically.

"Calm down Naruto," Sakura lectures, "We can't go yet because Ayaka isn't here yet."

"Yeah she is," Sasuke states blandly.

Sakura open her mouth to correct him, but after realizing who had spoken, she shuts it.

I stare from my spot under the tree at the dark haired boy. He had remembered I was there. He turns his head and looks straight at me, his charcoal eyes staring deep into my soul. I look away and pick myself up from the ground. "Yeah, I'm here," I say, yawning.

"You couldn't have shown yourself earlier when we were first ready to go?" Stupid old man, I don't have to do anything you want. I'm my own person.

"Okay everybody, calm down. It's time to head out," Kakashi says, moving towards the gate.

We walk for what seems like days before I notice something peculiar on the ground. Why is there a puddle? It hasn't rained in ages. I look at Kakashi to see that he's already looking at me. He gives a slight nod of his head before turning his attention back to the rest of the group.

I slow my pace, allowing myself to gradually slip away from the rest of the team before moving into the woods. I follow the team without being noticed by any of them. They reach a small clearing and I see movement from the other side of the path. They're under attack.

The ninja jump at my team. Sakura stands to protect Tasuna and Naruto freezes up. Kakashi is the first to be attacked, but right when his body is split in two, he uses a substitution justu.

"So," Kakashi say from behind me. "Are you going to help them or just sit here like an idiot?"

I smirk at my sensei, " I'll help them, I just need to wait for the right time."

I notice that Naruto is still frozen in place. One of the ninja decides that he's the next target and goes after him. Normally, I would move to save my teammate, but I get the feeling that I won't have to. Sasuke jumps in at the last second, sending the ninja flying with a kick to the head after he just barely nicks Naruto on the hand with his blade finger things.

The other ninja decides to take his chances with Sasuke. He backs the dark haired boy up against a tree and begins to lash out at him. Sasuke dodges skillfully but can't get out of the larger boy's reach.

"Where is Ayaka when we need her?" Sakura yells.

Now. I leap down from the tree and barrel the ninja in the ground. Sasuke looks at me and smirks. "You couldn't have done that sooner?"

"Nope," I smirk back, "Timing is everything." The ninja gets up, sputtering from the amount of dirt his face had been shoved into, and begins his attack again. This time, Sasuke and I work as a team.

We push the two ninja back against a tree before linking their arms together with a shuriken and then pinning that to the tree with a kunai. The ninja are left defenseless and Kakashi decides to reveal himself.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura squeals, "But you were killed!" Her idiocy is starting to get to me.

"He used the substitution justu, genius." I roll my eyes as the startled pinkette glares at me.

"Well, why wouldn't he just help us?" I'm surprised she was able to become a genin.

"I needed to see who the ninja were after. I had to determine wether or not they were just bandits looking for something to do or trained ninja with an actual goal." Thanks for clearing that up, Kakashi.

"Hey, sensei, shouldn't you have a look at Naruto's hand? He kind of got stabbed." This perks Kakashi up. Am I seriously the only one who pay attention to anything around here?

Kakashi looks over Naruto's hand and then looks back up to us. "It's poisoned. We should return home and get him to a doctor. Plus, we aren't capable of taking on this mission anyway. It's mostly likely a B or A ranked mission."

"But think about why he chose to make it a C ranked," I point out, "His village most likely can't afford a higher ranked mission and if we don't go, they could all die!"

"How would they die? He's just building a bridge." Dang it, Sakura! Shut up!

"People don't just build massive bridges like that for no reason! He's gotta have some goal besides making it easier to travel!" Everyone is staring at me like I'm a complete lunatic. Everyone except Naruto.

"I swear, by the pain in my hand, I will not spot the completion of this mission!" Naruto screams as he brings a kunai down on his hand, digging into his wound. He turns back to us, a wicked grin on his face. "Who's ready to kick some butt?" Everything falls silent.

Kakashi is the first to speak. "Naruto, it's great and all that you stabbed yourself to get the poison out, but now you could seriously bleed to death." Stop being so calm, Kakashi!

And now it's time for Naruto to freak out! But, he doesn't freak out for long. Something calms him down, and, from the peek that I got at his hand, it looks like there's not a wound on his hand anymore. Whoa.

"All right, Tasuna, we'll take you as far as your village and then we're heading home, alright?" Thank you so much Kakashi!


	6. Chapter 6

We continue our journey for a while before meeting yet another challenge. Most wouldn't consider this a challenge, but Naruto would.

We're walking down a small path when Naruto throws a kunai into a bush. It's obvious that there's nothing there so everybody get angry at him. Does that stop him from doing it again? Of course not. He throws yet another kunai into a different bush and nearly hits a rabbit. But, he may have actually done something right this time. The rabbit is white even thought it's the middle of summer, meaning it's been kept in captivity most likely to be used in a substitution justu...

"Duck!" Kakashi screams.

I immediately drop to the ground as a large blade digs into the tree right next to us. A man is standing on it. His face is covered in bandages and he has cow patterned arm and leg warmers. On his forehead he has a headband for the Village Hidden in the Mist. He stands with his bare back turned towards us.

"Zabuza Momochi, huh?" Kakashi ponders. "Rogue ninja of the Village Hidden in the Mist."

Naruto gets a crazy idea and runs at him only to be stopped by Kakashi. "Step back. He's at a whole different level. You'll only get in the way. I'm going to need this to fight him." He lifts his headband to reveal a long scar running over his closed left eye.

"Kakashi of the sharingan, the copy ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, I've been wanting to get you for a while now." That's kind of creepy, Zabuza...

"Everyone, manji formation! Guard the bridge builder and say out of this fight!"

I move to my position, guarding the back of Tazuna, trying my best not to say anything that will get me killed.

A mist begins to form around us and Zabuza leaps from his sword, grabbing it as he goes, and lands on the water of the lake beside us.

"He's standing on the water!" Sakura yells.

"No dip, smarty!" I shout back at her angrily. "He's just focusing his chakra to his feet. It's quite simple once you understand how it works."

"You have four students?" Zabuza snarls. "I wouldn't have noticed had the last one spoken up. Way to ruin you're advantage, genius."

This makes me angry. I can feel my blood boiling, getting faster and faster with each passing second. I can feel the control I have over my body slowly slipping away. I do my best to keep my mouth shut and stay in formation, but I can't help myself.

"You're making fun of a pitiful genin me when an elite jonin assassin such as yourself couldn't even see me standing right in front of you?" I shout, turning to see him on the water, building chakra. "I think that says something about the quality of ninja you have in your village. If you're the top, then all the others must be brain dead!"

The visible part of his face goes red with anger. "You insolent brat! I change my mind! You'll be the first to die!"

The control I have over my body vanishes instantly. A coat of black chakra forms over my body, covering me completely. I feel nothing except for a lust for blood. I lunge at Zabuza who seems to be staring at me, shocked.

"What the hell is that thing?" Naruto screams behind me as Zabuza swings at me with his blade. I dodge it and land behind him, latching my claws into his back just as he jumps away. I leave a trail of scratches as his body rips away from my newly formed claws.

"I- I think," Kakahi stutters, "It's Ayaka."

Zabuza and I continue to fight for quite some time, each of us getting in some pretty good shots. Zabuza got me with his sword in my stomach which normally would have killed me, but because of my protective coat of chakra, it barely did anything.

Zabuza hits me with his blade once again, sending me flying backwards. I land a little but behind Kakashi.

"Ayaka!" He yells. "You have to stop this! I can handle him!"

My gaze turns to Kakashi and I snarl. How dare he get in the way of my fight. I run forward and bring my claws down on him before he can do anything about it. He falls to the ground, weak and pathetic.

I turn back to Zabuza and am about to release a deadly attack before something hits him in the neck and he falls to the ground, just like Kakashi.

I stare for a second before I feel a sharp pain in my side and black out.


	7. Chapter 7

I'm laying in my bed when my dad opens up my door. "Good morning sweetheart," he says softly. There's something off about his voice, but I don't pay much attention to it.

I jump out of my bed. "Daddy, Daddy," I squeal, "It's my birthday!"

"Yes it is pumpkin. Now let's go open your presents and have some birthday pancakes!" He picks me up and spins me around before carrying me to the kitchen.

I sit at the table, barely able to see over the many gifts my parents got me. My parents sing to me before letting blow out the candles on my pancakes.

"Present time!" I yell with joy after finishing my breakfast. I open all of my presents with the speed of any crazy five-year-old.

When I finish, my mom is still smiling at me like I've got one more present. "What is it, Mommy?" I ask.

"Well, Daddy and I decided that you are now old enough to join the ninja academy!"

I jump up and down with excitement. "We've got to take you there now though, because you start today," Daddy says. "So let's get going!"

My parents drop me off at the school before going to work. I spend the day learning the basics of ninja lifestyles and meeting a few people. At the end of the day, I wait outside for Mommy and Daddy to come pick me up. There's another boy who's parents don't come, but he walks home by himself.

I wait for what feels like hours before deciding to walk home alone. When I reach my house, none of the lights are on but the door is unlocked. I let myself in.

I walk into the kitchen, thinking that they might be trying to surprise me. When I turn the lights on, there's no one there. I turn around but something catches my eye. I walk over to the table and read the note sitting on my spot.

A wave of sadness rushes over me. I feel myself lose control and I see my familiar black chakra run over my body. I lose control completely all because they left me.

My eyes flash open and I jump out of my bed. I bend over, panting heavily. I can here a few sets of feet running up the staircase and someone barges through my door.

My three teammates are standing in my door, each one covered in sweat with a worried expression on their face. Sasuke is closest to me and, although his face barely shows it, I can tell he was worried.

"Ayaka," Kakashi says, walking behind the genin, "I see you're awake."

"Yeah, how long have I been out?"

"Two days." Damn. This one was pretty bad.

"What happened to Zabuza?"

Kakashi opens his mouth to answer but Naruto butts in before he can say anything. "You totally whooped him, believe it!"

"You turned into this really scary mister thing though. That's how you nearly beat him." Sakura looks a me nervously from behind Sasuke's back, as if I have some sort of disease.

"What was that thing, Ayaka?" Kakashi asks.

"It, uh, it was me." The room is silent. They want me to tell them more than that, don't they. "It only happens when I lose control of my emotions which really only happens around my birthday so it's not like it will be a regular occurrence. You guys have nothing to worry about." I smile at my team and they stare back at me doubtfully. Ugh, please don't make me explain more.

"Alright," Kakashi speaks up, "Seeing as I still need to recover from, uh, Ayaka's incident, you guys will be learning to climb trees." What?


	8. Chapter 8

Sakura and I catch on to the whole tree climbing thing quickly, although I make it seem like I'm taking longer. I know that if I do get it immediately then Kakashi will make me work on the bridge as soon as possible and I don't feel ready for that yet.

I make it about halfway up the tree before I feel myself running low on chakra. I know if I push myself to hard then I'll lose control again and I can't let that happen. I decide to take a quick nap to refresh myself.

I lay down at the bottom of my tree and close my eyes for a second before passing out.

I'm sitting in a white space. There's no one around for a while until Kakashi appears with a monster. The monster is black with bright red orbs for eyes. It's form is constantly shifting as if it's not solid. I know this beast. It's me.

The creature runs at Kakashi and slices him in half with one swipe of its gargantuan paw. Kakashi's blood stains the white room and splatters on my face. "No."

Sakura appears in Kakashi's place. The creature brings its paw down on her as she squeals with terror. Her blood flies everywhere. "No."

Next is Naruto. His usually cheery face has been replaced with a look of pure terror. He shouts, tears steaming down his face as it bites into his side. Naruto's blood slowly leaks out of his body, pooling on the floor. "No."

Finally, Sasuke appears. He, unlike the others, turns to me. "You betrayed us, Ayaka. This is all your fault. All your fa-" The monster rips him apart before he can finish.

"No!" I shriek. I curl into a ball on the floor and grab my hair. "It's all my fault, it's all my fault, it's all my fault." I continue chanting that to myself as I rock back and forth, pulling at my dark grey hair.

My vision blurs and my position changes. I'm over the blood splatters now. I'm the monster. There's a menacing laugh coming from above me, so I look up.

My father is standing behind a glass mirror laughing with my mother. "You've grown up well," he says evilly, "You're a killing machine. But no matter what you do, you'll always be a worthless monster."

I jolt awake and hit my head on something hard. "Ouch," a familiar deep voice says. I look up to see Sasuke rubbing his head.

"What were you doing?" I ask, rubbing my head as well.

"This idiot and I were trying to train but you started screaming so we got worried and decided to check if you were okay or not. Are you okay?"

When I look at him, all I can see are his eyes filled with hatred for me, blaming the death of our friends on me. I know it was just a dream, but I can't help it.

I jump up an wrap my arms around him. His body stiffens under mine but he soon relaxes. "I'm sorry," I whisper into his ear. I feel a need to cry, but I can't do that here, not with people around.

I let go of Sasuke and give Naruto a hug as well. "What was that for?" The blonde asks.

"That was to thank you for being my friends."


	9. Chapter 9

Naruto, Sasuke, and I practice until nightfall when we decide to go in for dinner. We all made it to the top of the tree before going in.

We race back to Tasuna's house. I'm in this lead and the door is right in front of me. I crash through and scream "I win! Take that Naruto!" Everyone in the house is stunned.

Naruto comes in a few seconds later being supported by Sasuke. They're so weak. I smirk at the two of them as they collapse in a sweaty heap on the floor.

"Aww," I say, prodding Sasuke in the back, "The babies decided to take a nap. How cute."

Sasuke lets out a grunt and shoves me on the ground before rolling on top of me. "The baby needs a pillow," he pants, resting his head on my chest. I feel my heartbeat move substantially faster before Kakashi interrupts.

"What exactly is going on here?"

I look up at him. I can still feel his blood on my face. "He, uh, fell asleep." I wriggle under Sasuke's weight, resulting in him grunting and getting off me. He reaches out a hand to help me up and I take it gratefully. I turn to Kakashi and give him a hug like I gave the other boys.

"Uh, what are you doing?" He asks as I step away.

"She did it to the both of us too after she had a nightmare," Naruto points out, picking himself up off the ground.

"A nightmare?"

"It was nothing, I just had a weird dream." Dammit, Naruto. Why'd you have to tell him that?

"Which is obviously why you were screaming in your sleep." What the hell, Sasuke? I thought you were on my side!

"Ayaka," Kakashi says sternly, "What happened in this dream of yours?"

"Nothing," I say nervously, backing towards the door. "It was nothing."

"You're lying to us, I can tell." Just drop it already! "It was about that thing earlier, wasn't it?" Crap.

"No, it was nothing." I'm up against the door now, my hand positioned on the door knob. I'm scared. I keep seeing my parents, just images of them flashing in front of my eyes.

"Don't lie to me, Ayaka," Kakashi growls. "This is obviously bothering you." There it is. Why is it here? I didn't transform did I?

"No," I murmur. My breathing is ragged and shallow.

"What?" Kakashi's in it's grip now. It's going to rip him apart. He's going to die. They're all going to die... because of me.

"No!" I scream as the monster swallows my sensei whole. I turn and run out the door, heading to the forest as fast as possible. I don't want to see them die again. Never again.

I sit below a tree, clutching my head. Calm down, Ayaka, it was just a dream. They didn't really die. Everything is okay. You didn't do anything wrong.

My breathing slows and I lean up against the tree, looking at the dark blue night sky speckled with stars.

I begin to doze off when I feel someone sit down next to me. I peek my eyes open to see Sasuke leaning against my tree.

"How are you doing?" He asks quietly.

"Better, but I'm really tired."

"Everyone's looking for you. They're all worried about you after what happened with Kakashi."

I cringe as he brings up my breakdown. "Sorry about that. I was really tired and started seeing things."

"If you're so tired, do you want to go back to the house? You could go to bed"

"I'm not sure if I'd feel comfortable there now. Can we just stay here for a while?"

He's silent for a while. "Yeah. I'll stay with you in case you have another episode."

"Thank you," I murmur as I drift into a much needed sleep. My neck is no longer able to hold the weight of my head, so it drops onto Sasuke's shoulder.

As I'm about to lose consciousness, I feel his hand come up and stroke the side of my cheek. "Good night, Ayaka."


	10. Chapter 10

I wake to the sound of an extremely high-pitched scream. I feel a body move below me and realize where I am. I am laying on the chest of Sasuke Uchiha. I think I know who it was who screamed.

"Alright, uh, I know that you two are at the point in your lives when you're going to feel the need to, uh, touch each other, but I would prefer it if you did this on your own time when I can't be blamed for it." Whoa. Does Kakashi really think that we... Ew!

"Wait, hold up here! There is no way I would ever do... that... with Sasuke." Right then, I feel Sasuke wake up next to me. How in the world did he sleep through that?

"That's insulting." What? Why'd he say that?

"What did you do with my Sasuke?" Sakura squeals.

"I just fell asleep on him, that's all. We didn't do anything."

Sasuke reaches up and grabs my neck, trying to pull himself up, but because I'm not expecting it, I fall on him once again.

I look into his charcoal eyes and smile nervously. He smiles as well and I begin to laugh and roll off of him.

"Okay, well, we can't spend the day goofing off, we've got work to do." Thank you, Kakashi!

Sakura and I are positioned at the bridge alone because the boys have still not finished their training. I can feel her glaring at me the whole time, and I'm starting to get a bit nervous.

"Uh, why are you looking at me like that?" Please don't say...

"Because an orphan like you doesn't deserve a prince like Sasuke." How stupid is she?

"Neither does an idiot like you." I shove my hands in my pockets and turn my back to her.

"I'll have you know that I was one of the smartest kids in the class and I'm the co-founder of the Sasuke Uchiha fan club." Okay, that's a bit creepy.

"Well, then you should know this, it's very important," I look over my shoulder, "He's an orphan too."

She stares at me, dumbstruck. "I- I knew that," she says, "But at least he didn't drive his parents away like you did."

That's it, bitch. You're going to die if you say one more thing.

"Of course, a girl who has never been loved wouldn't know how to love, therefore you can't love Sasuke. You're just an obsessed stalker." Look who's talking, pinky.

I clench my fist and fling it at her, hitting her straight in the jaw. She looks at me, stunned. "I think you can take over here," I say calmly, "All this scum is making me dizzy."


End file.
